In The Name Of Science
by WeBuiltThePyramids
Summary: Happy and Toby convince Walter to take part in a relationship study on campus. The only problem is he's not in a relationship. College AU requested by sopercabeth on Tumblr.
1. Chapter 1

**This is for sopercabeth on Tumblr, who wanted Waige fic for her birthday. The prompt I got wasn't really oneshot material, but I'm only posting the first chapter now because I am a busy bee. Once we get into hiatus I'll be updating this one more, making it a full-fledged college AU. I tweaked the prompt a little bit to show that the characters are all already friends.**

* * *

 _My name is Walter O'Brien. I have the fourth highest I.Q. ever recorded – 197. Einstein's was 160. When I was eleven, I hacked NASA to get their blueprints for my bedroom wall, and the FBI came and arrested me. One of the agents noticed my genius and arranged for me to come to the United States to help out the government and, in exchange, they would pay for my higher education. My sister encouraged me to go to a public university in order to learn how to connect with the real world, and here I've found a couple friends. Happy is a mechanical prodigy. Toby is a behaviorist. And Paige._

Walter stopped writing. Paige certainly was important to their group, but her exact role in it was complicated, and not one that his fellow sophomore classmates were likely to understand. The three of them – Walter, Happy, Toby – had already worked on several successful research projects together. Paige helping them understand the average person was critical to their successes so far at the university, but his classmates wouldn't get it. His classmates would think her role was useless because she had more EQ than IQ. They probably hadn't even heard of EQ.

Walter tucked the paper into the back of his book and continued reading. He hated having to introduce himself at the beginning of semesters. They were a week in already, and the professor in this class was taking forever to get through the introductions. Walter had a feeling that class was going to bore him. He needed something with a pace.

"I found a way to get us some money."

Walter looked up from his book at the junior and freshman in front of him. "I'm not gambling, Toby."

"No no no!" The older boy dropped down on the grass across from his friend, the shade from the tree Walter was leaning against shielding both of them from the hot August sun. The girl scooted closer to Walter, away from the ant hill that Toby had unknowingly basically destroyed. "This is a scientific study. And the best part is they don't pay you until November, which is right before the conference we want to go to. So I won't be tempted to gamble it away."

"Didn't your girlfriend tell you she didn't want you to do that anymore?" Walter asked, raising an eyebrow and glancing at the girl.

Toby looked pleased that Walter was referring to Happy as his girlfriend. "I'm trying. I'm just saying it's good to have limited temptation."

"And limited temptation is a good foundation for breaking an addiction," Happy pointed out.

Walter closed the book and set it beside him, folding his arms. "So what's this study?"

"They're looking for people in monogamous relationships. Two month study. Everyone gets like five hundred bucks at the end of it."

"Five hundred bucks for two months' work?" Walter raised his eyebrows.

"It isn't really that much _work_ , per se."

"But five hundred dollars."

"Fifteen hundred with all three of us," Toby pointed out. "More than enough to get to the conference and back."

"Just one, one slight issue with this," Walter said, raising a finger. "Only two of us are actually in a relationship."

"The study starts in two weeks," Toby said. "That's plenty of time to bring someone in for five hundred bucks."

"That would weaken the integrity of the study." Walter frowned. "The data wouldn't be valid.

"You don't even think it's a legitimate topic for a study," Toby said, "I can tell by the look on your face. But you can still think of this as being in the name of science – as it'll help us get to that conference, and that's what's really important here." He looked at his phone. "I gotta get to class, but get back to me, okay?" He handed Walter a copy of the application, which he tucked into the back of his book next to his presentation draft.

"Pssst," Happy said, leaning over and whispering as Toby walked away even though they were not in earshot of anyone else. "Ask Paige."

Walter coughed. "Whe-why-why?"

"Come on," Happy said. "Like you guys haven't been flirting up a storm all summer semester and now that we're all back in the dorms she's always just five minutes away." She raised her eyebrows. Walter was glad his complexion allowed for slight blushing without showing his hand. Sure, he and Paige had texted over the summer, but he was busy with the rocket project and she'd been taking a few classes at a community college while she got over her breakup. He wouldn't consider their conversations as anything _up a storm._

"She, she doesn't have time to do this study," Walter said. "With all the...the stuff."

"She has time," Happy said. "She's crazy about you! And you're crazy about her! Just tell her you guys have to spend more time together and answer some questions, you already know each other well, the team working the study won't know you're not actually a couple. And..." she shrugged suggestively, "I mean at the rate things are going, you guys might be before the thing's over. Which Toby and I both know is not an outcome you'd complain about."

"No," Walter said, "she's got so much going on, she...no."

Happy rolled her eyes. "Just bring it up, Walter."

"Next time I see her."

"Walter, I'm not an idiot, she's at the far end of the yard and you've been staring in that direction ever since she came into view."

Walter sighed, biting his lip. "This seems like a terribly devious way to address the potential for an emotional relationship."

"It's not devious if she knows it's for a study. It's not like you're not going to tell her they'll be thinking of you two as boyfriend and girlfriend I swear to God Walter go over there. If not for your own good, for mine, because all Toby talks about is how you guys need to figure it out."

"Why right now?"

Happy was not amused. "Because then it's the weekend and you know she's going to be at the health center Monday for her appointment and then the study applications are due."

Walter glanced back at the end of the yard. She was standing with a few others in her sorority, all of them looking at someone's cellphone and laughing.

He nodded to his friend and rose, his stride purposeful as he walked across the grass. She noticed him when he got about ten yards away, and she smiled. "Hey Walter!"

"Paige!" He stopped cold. "I, uh, didn't see you there." _Attaboy, way to start this out with a lie._

"I'll catch up," she said to the other girls as they started to head off to the administration building. One of them waved. Another shouted a brief greeting to Walter. Paige smiled at them, then turned back to him. "What's up? How have I not seen you the past few days?"

"I was, uh...there's this rocket project at the..." he scratched the back of his neck, realizing the question was rhetorical. "You need money, right?"

"It's college," she said, "it's safe to assume most of us need money."

"Right, I just mean...you only get so many free appointments at the health center and..." his eyes briefly traveled to her waist. Her fitted sorority tank stop still fit her, but it wouldn't much longer. "And five hundred dollars, that'll really help with...good car seats aren't cheap." He mentally smacked himself on the forehead. _She doesn't have a car._

"Walter." She looked both amused and confused. "What are you talking about?"

"There's this study, at the psychology building," he said. "They want to observe couples for two months. It pays five hundred dollars to each person now Happy and Toby are doing it and you and I, we know each other really well so it'd be easy to make them _think_..." he cleared his throat. "Five hundred dollars," he repeated, unable to think of a possible second selling point to this idea. _This is so stupid._ He remembered something Happy had said – the main selling point for _him_ , but...

"We'd have to spend more time together," she said, as if she was reading his mind. She smiled. "We couldn't have a repeat of yesterday."

She was, of course, referring to their lack of contact the previous day. Walter had been disappointed about that and it seemed – maybe? – like she had been too. "We would...we would have to spend more time in each other's, uh, company," he said. "Yes. And we'd have to discuss our dynamic with the team involved in the study. So if that's something that you're gonna be...uncomfortable with...then...it was just a thought. I'm sorry."

He turned to go, then felt her hand on his arm. "Walter, hey!" She was smiling. "There's no way this will make me more uncomfortable than forty weeks is gonna make me and that's an inevitability."

"Thirty eight weeks."

"What?"

"Pregnancy isn't actually forty weeks. They calculate from the date of your last cycle, not from the date of conception, so with the forty week model, you're already two weeks pregnant when you conceive, which doesn't make any sense, so full gestation is actually thirty eight weeks."

"Interesting." She nodded. "Really though, Walter, this sounds like fun."

He brightened. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, I mean, like you said, we...we know each other really well, I need to work hard this semester since it'll probably be my last one for a while, and how better to do that than hang out with my genius friend?" She smiled. "It'll help me be more _efficient_ with my time."

He grinned. "Okay. I'll bring you the application after your class." He had to make a copy of it first.

"Great. I gotta get going now, though." She flashed him another smile as she turned to head to the history building.

Walter glanced back across the yard at Happy. She gave him a thumbs up.

* * *

 **(In case it's not entirely clear - Toby is a junior, Walter and Paige are sophomores, Happy is a freshman, Quintis is a couple, more backstory will be revealed in future chapters, and yes, Sly will be in the fic too.)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Happy finale day! Good luck to all.**

* * *

"Honestly, we are lucky we're geniuses," Happy said. "Schools like this are research based, which means most of the professors are more interested in their own projects than with teaching. Teaching is just something they have to do to keep their position, and a lot of them do it begrudgingly. Makes it hard for people who struggle academically to pass their difficult courses, because professors' hearts aren't in helping them out."

"Oh goody," Paige said, extending her legs out in front of her and crossing her ankles.

"You're doing fine in all your classes, aren't you?" Toby asked.

They were in Toby and Walter's dorm room. Happy and Toby sat on his bed, the latter's back against the wall with his girlfriend laying back against his shoulder. Walter was on the futon, his printed draft of a physics paper on his lap and next to him.

Paige shrugged, using the leverage her ankles had on the floor to swivel Walter's desk chair back and forth. "I mean, I'm passing. My grades would actually be considered good if I was friends with literally anyone else."

"Too bad you couldn't just get a two year degree," Walter said. "With the summer you had, you could be on track to graduate in December."

"I don't think she was planning to get pregnant when she applied to this place," Happy pointed out.

Toby looked over at her. "You're due when, December..."

"Twentieth," Paige said. "So I'll finish the semester."

"You think you'll come back at some point?"

Paige shrugged. "I'm single. I have to provide first."

"That's something you guys really have to think about," Toby said, gesturing between her and Walter as he shoved a mouthful of peanut butter sandwich into his mouth. "You know the study is going to want to know what's up with that."

"Why would they?" Paige asked. "Walter's not the father."

"No," Toby said, "but in this scenario, he's dating someone who is pregnant by another man. And if you two are still in a relationship when the baby is born, then wouldn't Walter fall into the fatherly role? Drew's not in your life at all anymore, is he?"

Walter wasn't good at reading people's emotions, but he remembered that night that Drew had left, at the beginning of the summer. His sister Megan, at the time a fifth year senior in Paige's sorority, had told Walter how Paige had cried so hard in another girls' arms her eyes had nearly swelled shut.

He glanced worriedly at her. Paige was still and quiet. "No," she said after a moment. "I haven't seen him since middle of May."

"So, you know," Happy said, trying to move past the uncomfortable moment, "just be ready to answer questions about that."

"Yeah," Paige said, glancing at Walter. "Yeah, we'll talk."

"You have some time now," Toby said, looking at his phone. "Happy and I have to get down to the lab."

"Your experiment isn't scheduled to run for another forty five minutes," Walter said.

"Yeah," he said as the two of them got up. "But the lab's sometimes a little chilly, so..."

"Gotta heat it up beforehand," Paige said with a knowing nod and a little wiggle of the eyebrows.

"Smart lady," Toby said, grabbing his hat and resting it on his head as Happy grabbed his hand, reaching for the door.

"They're so cute," Paige said, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

Walter was studying a page of his paper. "Uh huh." He realized in the period of silence that followed that he should probably follow up on their previous conversation. "So..." he pushed the papers aside. "How...how do you want to do this?"

She raised her eyebrows and smiled. "You don't have it all planned out?"

"Well, I...I...t was Toby's idea," Walter stammered. "I was actually hoping that you...seeing as you..."

"Walter," she said, cocking her head, "have you ever _been_ in a relationship?"

"Well, uh, relationships are, they tend, really they're...Janice!" He nodded. "I dated Janice."

"For like two weeks."

She wasn't wrong. He'd had an early move in date their freshman year, and it seemed everyone who had come early was finding relationships if they weren't already in them. Janice was a nice, aesthetically pleasing pre – med student who had taken an interest, and they'd gone on three dates before he'd decided that he was bored. Coincidentally, he'd met Paige just hours after ending whatever it was he had with Janice.

"No one but Janice?" She looked surprised, which in turn surprised him. She knew he didn't _really_ believe in love. It was just a temporary euphoria, something that came and went because of temporary chemical reactions in the brain. It was trickery, an illusion.

"No."

"Well," she said, coming to sit beside him, "it won't be as difficult as you might think."

He raised his eyebrows, looking at her. "It, it won't?"

"Nope," she said. "I mean, we've been friends for a year now. We know each other pretty well, I know about how you came to the U.S., about...about Megan..."

Walter stiffened slightly. Megan's diagnosis wasn't exactly a new development anymore, but hardly anyone knew. He wasn't even sure that Megan knew that Paige knew, even though they were still living in the same house at the time she'd gotten the news. But he'd told her. And she'd immediately taken his car keys, something that had infuriated him at the time. But it hadn't taken him long to appreciate her actions. He knew he'd have taken off, and when he was overwhelmed, he drove recklessly. She'd prevented him from putting himself at risk, and although they'd spent their entire freshman year getting along well, it was that moment that made him realize something.

He trusted her.

He _could_ trust her. He didn't feel safe around that many people, and it had surprised him how comfortable he was around her. He wasn't surprised anymore. Now, being around her was comfortable. Easy.

She was still talking, "and you know things about me that most people don't know..."

Walter wondered if she knew that he knew about her breakdown when Drew had left. He had never seen Paige Dineen looking anything but strong. He couldn't imagine what she must look like in the throes of despair. He didn't want to know. He didn't like the idea of her feeling that way.

"So basically..." she shrugged. "We can pass as two people in a relationship."

She hadn't moved, but suddenly she seemed much closer. Walter studied her face.

"I mean with the exception of..." she glanced at his lips. "The physical aspect of a relationship...we're basically already in one. We have everything else."

Walter nodded.

She smiled, reaching over to put her hand over his, where it rested on his thigh. She leaned over and rested her chin on his shoulder. "We just gotta get a little more comfortable, huh?"

The way she casually cuddled up to him was startling to Walter, but he realized it was also welcome. He didn't like people touching him, usually, but...

She was different. Happy was right, he _had_ wondered what it might be like to be going out with Paige. He enjoyed every second he spent with her, and although it had startled him the first time he realized he was staring at her lips, he found himself doing it again, and again.

"Baby's kicking," she mumbled. "You want to feel?"

"Okay."

He waited for her to grab his hand. Even though she'd invited him, even though she'd tugged her shirt up in preparation, her stomach wasn't somewhere he felt comfortable just reaching out and touching. Thankfully, she seemed to know that, and almost immediately following her invitation she wrapped her fingers around his wrist and drew his hand against her stomach. She was thin and athletic and hardly showing even at six months, but he could feel the curve of her skin under his palm. He waited in silence, as if he'd miss the kick if he spoke. Then he felt it, a pulse like a muscle spasm under his hand.

All babies moved in utero. But as he reclined on the couch with Paige, her head on his shoulder and his hand on her skin, he felt that movement go straight to his chest.


	3. Chapter 3

**(Sorry updates on this one are sporadic – what's even more sporadic are my days off, so I gotta find time to write before work.)**

* * *

The first step in the couples' study was to fill out a survey.

"So, how long have we been dating?" Paige asked, sitting with her knees up, the clipboard resting against her legs.

"The study requires at least a two month relationship."

"Two months, then?"

"No," Walter said quickly. "That will call into question the authenticity of the relationship. We can't just be dating as long as required."

"Well, I've been single for three months," Paige said. "So maybe when Drew left, you comforted me, we realized that we had feelings for each other, and we started a romantic relationship then?"

"No no no," Toby protested. "You guys cannot be dating longer than Happy and me."

"Five... _hundred dollars_ ," Walter said dramatically.

"I can't say I like you using my persuasionary tactics against me."

"I don't think that's a word."

"Language can evolve," Paige said. "This entire language didn't exist fifteen hundred years ago."

"I like having a history major in our group," Toby said, gesturing toward Paige with his pen. "You got yourself a good one there, Walter."

"Paige was in our group before this study."

"I think what Toby is doing," Paige said, "is using language that specifically suggests that you and I are actually a couple. Remember, we can't just act like it when we're directly involved with the study. That won't make it authentic."

"Fine." Walter pressed the pen to the paper. "Three months."

"Alright. Now what do you guys like doing in your spare time?"

"Toby," Happy said, looking at his clipboard. "You cannot write 'make mad passionate love on every surface available' in the hobbies section."

"It'd be true if you hadn't said no to the ping pong table."

"Not even close," Happy countered.

"See?" Toby said, pointing his pen at them again. "We have a natural couples dynamic. You guys will need to have that too."

"We already have a dynamic," Walter said.

"Talking on a near constant basis and staring at her from afar every second you're not together?"

Paige blinked. "What?"

" _Toby_ ," Walter hissed.

"I think what Toby means," Happy said, "is, you know, geniuses like us, sometimes starting conversations are awkward, so we just sort of idle."

Toby looked at his girlfriend. "I'm not ever getting that ping pong table, am I?"

* * *

Walter and Paige wandered down to the cafeteria after turning in the survey. "Good," Paige said, "they haven't shut down the ice cream machine yet."

"Ice cream has limited nutritional value," he said, unsure of how else to respond.

"I don't care," she said. "The baby wants ice cream."

"The baby doesn't know what ice cream is."

She rolled her eyes, grabbing two paper bowls and filling them with vanilla. She handed one to Walter. "Can you grab spoons?"

"Uh, yeah." Walter walked to the end of the table, where the rest of the snacks were. He grabbed a bag of pretzels and dropped it in his backpack, then picked up two plastic spoons and reached over, handing one to Paige. "All this disposable stuff is not very good for the environment. No no, eat it," he encouraged when Paige froze, the spoon hovering over her ice cream. "It's what they provide, doesn't make us criminals for existing when there's no other option."

"Well, I mean," she said playfully, "we could do this." Walter, realizing what she was going to do and already knowing the inevitable outcome, watched with wide eyes as she put the cup to her mouth and tipped it, dumping a portion of the soft serve into her mouth. Some of it stuck to her nose and lips, a drop running up her cheeks, and he could see by the look in her eyes that she hadn't thought it all the way through. She leaned back forward, catching the cup, a hand going to her mouth to hide the mess.

Walter grabbed a napkin, handing it to her, and Paige wiped her mouth and nose, letting out a breath and putting a hand to her forehead. "Brain freeze."

He chuckled. "You good?"

She exhaled quickly again. "Woo. I think so." She stuck the spoon in her bowl. "I think I'll just go with this."

"You've still got..." he gestured to where the ice cream had run up to near her eye.

"Oh shit." She grabbed a fresh napkin. "That didn't go as I planned."

"What exactly was the plan?" He started laughing again, pleased when she did too. She had a lovely laugh, he had come to realize.

"See?" She said, "we don't need to come up with a couple's dynamic. We've got one already. Doesn't matter the relationship isn't physical, we can play this."

"Do you think they're gonna..." Walter shifted uncomfortably. "In the movies you and Megan like..."

"Make us kiss in front of them, or something?" Paige cocked her head. "I wouldn't think so. I mean, there'd be no reason to. Unless..." she hesitated. "Unless the 'observational period' that they talked about, means they'll just expect to see us acting like a couple."

They exited the cafeteria through the outside door, stepping into the warm evening. "Glad we have that ice cream now," Walter commented.

"It's almost too sweet for me," she said, frowning down at what was left.

"Oh." Walter dropped his bag to the ground and pulled out the pretzels. "Offset?"

"Oh my gosh." She grabbed the bag and tore it open. "This is actually one of my cravings."

"Pretzels and ice cream?"

"Salty sweet." Paige tucked the bag under her arm and dipped a pretzel in the ice cream. "It's good, you should try it."

"I'm okay."

"Suit yourself." She hopped up on the low stone wall that surrounded some trees. "You might be right about the study people."

He joined her. "Watching us for displays of affection?"

"Yeah. Even if they're not suspicious, even if they believe we're a couple, we probably should act like it a bit." She gave him a grin. "You think you can handle that, O'Brien?"

"I'm...I'm sure I can."

She studied him. "Maybe we should give it a trial run."

"What?" He didn't understand.

"You know," she said. "We shouldn't be doing anything for the first time in front of them. It'd be too obvious."

Walter side eyed her. "W-what are you suggesting?"

"Just that there shouldn't be any surprises." She put down the bag and the cup, pushing herself up with her hands to scoot closer to him. "Can I kiss you?"

His eyes went to her lips. He couldn't say he hadn't wondered what they'd feel like on his. He cleared his throat, hoping it hadn't been too long of a silence, then found he wasn't sure how to respond. "Uh, I...uh..."

She smiled, leaning in slowly. She stopped just shy of his lips – he was sure she was giving him a chance to pull away – and he closed the distance.

She eagerly accepted his lips, parting hers and moving them slowly. Their noses brushed, he adjusted, and their mouths pushed against each other gently.

Paige was a good kisser. She had to be – Walter didn't have much to compare her to, but the girls who had kissed him before never made him feel like an engine newly hotwired. Adrenaline surged through him, he was suddenly more awake, more aware of his surroundings, more aware of how her knee was making slight contact with his thigh as she leaned to him.

Their lips separated, and they looked at each other, Paige's face flushed, Walter instantly with a craving of his own – to feel her mouth on his again.

He didn't act on it. That wouldn't be appropriate. He cleared his throat. "N-no...no surprises."

"Nope," she said slowly, still staring at him. "No surprises."


	4. Chapter 4

**(Sorry this chapter is short but I wanted to get** _ **something**_ **out in my busy schedule. This fic will be updated at a slower pace than Serendipity, though.)**

"Hey, shammers!"

Walter and Paige stopped cold outside the sociology building. "What?"

Toby grinned as he and Happy approached. "How did your initial session go?"

"Well," Paige said, "they definitely know what our differences are, and they might think we have a difference of opinion on even if we're a couple."

"Oh boy," Toby said, "Walter, what did you do?"

"They asked us questions, I answered honestly," Walter said with a shrug.

"They asked us what we struggle with most in our relationship, and Walter said that his biggest struggle is learning how to connect with me emotionally."

"Well, that sounds like Walt," Happy said.

"No no, just wait," Paige said, "it was fine then, like, completely realistic, but it gets better. He said that I believe in things like romantic love, _which isn't real._ "

"What people believe is love is a temporary chemical..."

" _We are supposed to be in a romantic relationship!_ "

Walter stopped. "Okay," he conceded. "I can see where that might have not made a lot of sense to them."

"You didn't think to go with _she likes flowers and chocolates and my idea of a good gift is going to the planetarium_?" Toby asked.

"She doesn't like straight chocolate," Walter said. "She likes salty – sweet."

"That's not the point, Walt," Happy said. "Realistically, if you don't believe in that stuff, you wouldn't be in a relationship, at least not a serious one."

"I dated – "

"Janice, we know, that doesn't count."

"So what did they say to you after that?" Toby asked.

"They want to hook us up to this machine that will gauge how our brains respond to each other, both in nice situations and when we're discussing topics that might stress us out. That'll be on Tuesday, I think."

"Yeah, they're making everyone do that," Happy said. "We're doing it on Monday afternoon." She elbowed Toby when he gave a little snicker.

"You know what you two need to do, is go on an actual date," Toby suggested. "Just so you have that experience under your belt. Not dinner and a movie. I mean, dinner is fine, but a movie? There's absolutely no conversational potential during a movie unless you're being a real ass to the other patrons. And I know Walter sure as Hell isn't going to get things heated in the back row. So maybe not so much a movie."

"Just spend more time together," Happy said. "I know what you're gonna say, Walt," she said warningly, raising a hand to silence him when he opened his mouth to speak. "The four of us already spend a ton of time together. But you guys need to spend time alone. In an environment where you'll be perceived as a couple by anybody. That will make your electrode session more organic."

"That sentence was really hot, you know," Toby said, automatically jumping to the side to avoid her elbow. He grinned. She rolled her eyes, barely hiding her own smirk.

"So what should we do?" Walter asked.

"Hey man, you're not dating me," Happy said, gesturing to Paige. "You ask her what you guys should do."

"Right. Paige?" He turned to her. Her hands were on her hips, her brow furrowed as she thought. Her posture had her leaning back slightly, which made her pregnancy – still mostly hidden – more obvious.

"Compromise," she said. "Dinner and planetarium."

"No," Walter said, "not planetarium. Dinner and actual sky. I have a car, we can get out of the city."

"That's quite the time commitment for a first date," Paige said, raising her eyebrows.

"I mean, we can...we can do the planeta..."

"No no," she said, smiling. "I'd love to do that. Plus, time to talk, you know, which means more conversational fodder for the study."

"So it's set, then," Walter said.

"it's a date," she agreed.

Toby leaned over to Happy, his mouth against her ear. " _They're gonna make out so hard on that date_."


	5. Chapter 5

"Okay, yeah," Paige said as they got out of the car. She slammed the door, running a few steps forward as she looked up at the sky. "This is better than the planetarium."

"The planetarium is very nice," Walter said, "and...and informative. You can manipulate the controls to show any sky anywhere in the world at any day and any time. And you don't have to worry about the weather. But this is the real thing."

Paige gave him an amused look. "You don't have to tell me that, Walter."

"Oh, I...I wasn't suggesting you don't know...I only figured, since we have to convince the people running the study that we're the real thing, it'd be more...effective...to make our date as authentic as possible. Also, we don't have as much light pollution."

"It _is_ really pretty out here," she said.

"Oh," Walter said suddenly, realizing something. He felt a load of disappointment weighing him down. "I didn't bring a telescope."

"Oh, that's okay," Paige said. "We can see them fine like this."

"But, I was...I was going to show you..." Why did his chest feel like it had a thousand pounds pressing on it? "I w-was going to take one from the astronomy building and..."

She stopped walking, seeming alarmed at the way he was acting. "Walter, hey, it's okay. Honestly. I like star gazing, we...we don't need a... _Walter_." She stood in front of him, putting her hands on the inside of his elbows. "You did not make a mistake."

He pressed his lips together and nodded. "Okay."

"Come on." She took one of his hands – which made sense, Walter though, as they _were_ on a date, and led him out to the clearing. She settled on the hill, leaning back, wiggling for a moment to get into a comfortable position, then laying still, staring up at the sky as if she had never been more comfortable in her life.

Walter did not like laying on the ground. He slowly lowered himself next to her, but he felt every little bump, every uneven spot beneath him. The ground was cold. It wasn't pleasant.

But he did like looking at the stars, and he did like spending time with Paige, and if this was a part of that, well.

"Sometimes I get overwhelmed by how large the universe is," Paige said. "Do you ever feel kinda irrelevant?"

"No," Walter said. "We operate in this space. For most people, our parameters are the confines of the planet and the area immediately surrounding it. It's a miniscule, definable area, where one person or small group of people can be extremely effective. I'm sorry, what is funny?" He asked when she giggled.

"Not so much funny," she said. "Just kind of...I don't know."

"You're making fun of me."

"No!" She sat up, looking down at him. "No. I was just a little..." she furrowed her brow. "It's hard to explain. It's like...what you were saying was really cute to me. And I giggled because I was...a little overwhelmed, I guess? But in a good way. Like oh my gosh, Walter O'Brien is laying next to me on the hillside and he's being cute."

"I see." Walter nodded, sitting up, grateful to no longer feel the pebble pressing against his shoulder. "This is a date strategy."

She looked at him, biting her lip as if she was trying not to giggle again, but then she nodded. "Yes. Walter. A date strategy." They looked at each other, silently, in the dim, natural light. "Dinner was nice," Paige said after a moment.

Walter might not understand how Paige could get so comfortable on the ground or why she had giggled, but he couldn't have agreed more with that statement. Dinner had been _very_ nice. What was great about him and Paige was how easy it was for them to find something to talk about. She couldn't talk about the projects that he was working on with Happy, and he couldn't talk about the charity work she was doing with her sorority, but they had been friends for a year, and despite a slight hitch when Paige had tried to bring up Megan – Walter didn't want to talk about her being sick – they couldn't believe how late it was when they finally paid their bill. Now, after driving long enough to get out of the city, it was nearly three in the morning.

"We might be tired for class tomorrow," he said.

She shrugged. "I used to skip my first class if I was out late with Drew. It's something that happens, sometimes, in a relationship."

"Interesting."

They sat in silence, looking at each other. She looked good, Walter thought, stretched out, her hair agreeing with the light from the moon. It wasn't the sort of observation Walter usually made. She laid back down, wiggling again to get comfortable, and he watched her, thinking.

He lay back down next to her, and wondered if he should initiate some sort of contact. They _were_ on a date, as far as anyone but them were concerned, and she'd taken his hand earlier. And laying on a hillside was romantic, right? So, Walter figured, he should do something. For authenticity.

Yet...they _weren't_ an actual couple. This _wasn't_ an actual date. And no one else was around to see how they acted out here. But...

"Should I...uh..." he blurted, not sure when he began the sentence how he was intending to finish it. _Take your hand? Kiss you? Roll on my side and rest my hand on your stomach?_

Without warning, her leg jerked and she winced. He sat bolt upright. "What's wrong?"

"The baby," she said, a hand under her right breast, drawing her breath in through her teeth so the sound resembled a hiss. "He just nailed me in the ribs."

"You're at seven months," Walter observed. "At that point they start pressing upward. Pain in the ribs isn't uncommon."

She nodded, gritting her teeth. "There's been some mild discomfort but that hurt more than I imagined it would. Don't do that again, baby," she said, looking down and running her hand lightly over her stomach as she spoke. She looked back at Walter. "They said he can recognize my voice, now."

"Have you picked a name?" Walter asked as she shifted her weight, leaning back on her hands, legs bent at the knee, forming an obtuse triangle with the ground.

"No," she said. "I keep thinking I need to come up with a name before he's born or I'm not preparing well enough. But then I don't know if I can pick a name having only seen a sonogram picture. I just feel that when he's in my arms, I'll know his name." She looked down at her knees. "I know logically that doesn't make sense."

It did make sense – although Walter realized that it probably shouldn't, at least not to him. "Is it...uh...daunting?" He asked. "Doing this..." he gestured to her, as if she didn't know what he meant, "by yourself?"

She was silent for a while. "I have you guys. And my sorority sisters. But..." she rolled her lower lip under. "I didn't think I'd ever have a baby whose father didn't..." her voice cracked. "Didn't want him."

"We don't have to talk about that..." Walter started, feeling horrible again. _I forgot the telescope and now I've made her cry._ This was exactly why he needed to fake a relationship.

He was startled when she rolled toward him, resting her chin on his chest as he lay on his back. Her body language was suggesting that she was either looking for or finding comfort from him. It didn't make sense. He was the reason she'd gotten upset in the first place.

* * *

"No," Toby said, "Drew is the reason that she was upset. Drew is the one that abandoned her."

"I brought it up."

"You were making conversation," Toby said, "discussing something significant, trying to understand her better. That's what people in relationships do. You weren't trying to hurt her. And she came close to you. That means you make her feel better."

"I didn't do much," Walter said. "She'd accidentally pinned my arm under her and I shifted it so I could rest my hand in her hair."

"And you let her lay there and let her compose herself," Toby said. "You were there for her. Being there is what's important."

"You weren't there. I did everything wrong."

"Interesting that you care so much," Toby said, raising his eyebrows.

"She's my friend," Walter said defensively. "Of course I care."

"No, I mean, when you guys hang out as friends, it's so effortless. Anyone in the general vicinity can tell how much you enjoy each other's company. But suddenly you guys are pretending to date and you're tripping all over yourself. This is what I've been telling you for months. You _like_ her. In _that_ way." He folded his arms. "So did you kiss her?"

"No." Walter tried to say it matter of factly, but in reality, he was a bit disappointed in himself for not kissing her when he'd dropped her back off at the house. He wasn't going to tell Toby that.

The psychiatry student shook his head. "Walt. You gotta."

"No, I don't," he snapped. "This isn't real. In two months it'll be over. I'm not going to kiss her...touch her..." he shook his head, clearing every thought that had just come into his mind, "and then leave her. Drew already did that."


	6. Chapter 6

Walter felt the session with the scanners was going well. All they asked him to do was talk about Paige. That was easy. He had known her for over a year, and when they asked him about their romantic relationship, he told them about their date, but spoke about it in a way that suggested that it was common, their routine.

There were two people in the room. Raghibah, the graduate student asking the questions, and Leia, also a grad student, interpreting the results, writing furiously.

"What would you say _frustrates_ you the most about Paige Dineen?" Raghibah asked, leaning forward and folding her hands on the table.

Walter thought they were finished. "I guess because we're so different, it's hard when she doesn't explain things. Like the other night we were stargazing, and...she kept giggling. And I didn't know why. She explains things when I ask her to but sometimes she forgets. And I want to understand her. But we're so different. It's hard, sometimes. She does try, though. She really wants me to understand."

Raghibah and Leia were both nodding, Raghibah leaning over to look at what Leia was writing on the notepad.

There were a few more questions, then they opened the folder next to them, pulling out a photograph. "Take this," Leia said, standing up, leaning forward over the table, and handing it to Walter.

He reached for the photograph, rising slightly out of the chair, leaning back again when he had a grip on it. He flipped it over.

Paige smiled up at him. She was leaning against a tree, her head cocked, one hand resting lightly against her stomach. Walter wondered how they'd gotten the photography students to partake in this study. The photograph they'd taken of him had been with a fairly generic camera. The picture of Paige seemed brighter and clearer than anything that the camera he'd been in front of could produce.

He waited for a question, and when one didn't come, he looked up to find Leia writing and Raghibah looking at the computer and nodding. "Do you have anything to ask me?" He asked.

"Nope," Leia said, still writing.

"Okay." He cocked his head, looking at them another moment before glancing back down at the picture.

* * *

Walter exited the building and turned the corner, coming face to face with Paige. "How did it go?"

He jumped, and she jumped too, startled at his reaction. "Hey," he said. "It went, uh..." he looked back toward the building. "Fine, I guess. What did they have you do?"

"They asked me my favorite things about you, how we met, what we typically do on dates and when we just hang out. They showed me a picture of you, and then we talked about my baby a bit."

"They didn't ask me about the baby."

"They might when we go in together next week. Or maybe my scan was already over and they were just making small talk." She shrugged. "I have no idea."

"They said they were going to pay pretty close attention to how we interact together," Walter said. He glanced over his shoulder, suddenly alarmed. "There's cameras all over this campus. Do you think they're watching us?"

He looked wide eyed back at Paige, who giggled. "Walter," she said, "this isn't some top secret government project."

"Well," Walter said, "if Happy and Toby and I were doing this project..."

"You guys are geniuses who have tendencies to go over the top," she said. "I doubt they're watching us. But...just in case..." she grabbed his hand. "Walk me to class?"

"Yeah." He'd mentioned enjoying walking around campus with her in the session. "Baby still trying to break your ribs?"

"It's almost a constant sensation now," she said. "I'm trying to ignore it. But I guess I'll just get more and more uncomfortable until he's here. He's not kicking my ribs anymore though, I think his head is up there. Which is actually more painful, but he's kicking out against my stomach again. And that feels really cool."

He stopped walking, turning toward her slightly. "Can I feel again?"

"Of course," she said. She cocked her head. "Want to feel how it feels for me?"

"What do you mean?"

She let go of his hands and stepped closer, putting her hands on him just above his hips. She closed the gap between them completely, leaning back slightly so her stomach pressed firmly against his. Walter couldn't look down at her stomach because it was too close to his. She was looking up at him, smiling, so he focused on her face. They hadn't had their faces this close together for this long since they kissed, so Walter cracked a smile in an attempt to distract himself from her proximity. "I thought you said he was kicking."

"Just give him a second," she said, amused.

Then he felt it, and his eyebrows shot up. "Wow." It was an odd thing to say, he thought. All babies kicked at some point. It wasn't incredible that Paige's son was moving. But feeling it against _his_ stomach was some surreal experience – it still wasn't exactly the sensation that Paige felt, but it was different then when he had his hand against her. It was more intimate.

He kissed her.

As soon as their lips met, he wondered if he'd made a mistake. Sure, she was holding him against her, sure, she'd let him feel her baby kick against his own stomach, but that wasn't an invitation to push anything farther. She was recovering from a painful breakup, her last real relationship had flat out abandoned her and her son, and he acted on impulse, on what _he_ wanted to do in _that_ present moment.

That was what her entire relationship with Drew had been like and he regretted doing anything that might remind her of that hurt.

But when she kissed him back, he didn't get the impression that she was afraid of what he'd done. She slid her hands up to his face as he finally did something with his hands, taking them from hanging limply at his sides to resting against her ribs. His thumbs pushed against the sides of her breasts – another immediate regret – but he didn't want to jerk them away. He was already awkward enough without his hands lurching all over her body.

But she felt nice under his hands. And _her_ hands felt nice, cradling his face in them. Their stomachs still pressed together, he felt the baby kick against him again.

Their kiss was not frantic or clumsy, but slow and and strong. She separated their lips briefly, tipping her head the other way, so her nose moved to the other side of his. He caught her lower lip between his, and he heard her moan quietly, sliding her hands back to curl her fingers around his hair.

The feel of her on him and against him was almost too much.

He tore his lips from hers, not wanting to let her go but feeling like he would black out if he kept his mouth on hers any longer. So, with his hands still against her ribs and her stomach still in contact with his, he leaned his head back, as far as it could go, and regarded her.

Her eyes were slightly closed, her pupils dilated, and her mouth remained open... _was she panting?_ He was startled by the way she was looking at him.

He'd seen Toby and Happy look at each other that way right before they kicked him out of the room.


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm doing a bit of a time jump here, because 1. It would be more same old, same old for the next five chapters and 2. This prompt was suggested to me in the form of a oneshot prompt so I was never planning on making this a 20K fic or so. There will probably be three more chapters, after this one.**

* * *

Walter closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep while Toby talked his ear off.

He had made the mistake of accompanying the psychiatry student to get their printout results of the – it wasn't exactly a brain scan, but that's what Paige kept calling it and Walter began defaulting to that name.

Of course Toby had zeroed in on Walter's results and pointed out how much Walter's brain reacted when he was talking about Paige, how much he was especially affected by seeing the photograph that they provided. "Look at that," he had immediately commented. "But being romantically affected by another person is junk science, huh?"

"The results show that I enjoy Paige's company," Walter said. "We are friends. If these results showed no affectation, then that would be a red flag in the validity of the experiment."

"These aren't friend levels, 197," Toby was saying now, hours later, he and Happy standing over Walter as he pretended to nap. "And Walter, you've seen how she's been looking at you. Hell, that kid Sylvester who toured our lab the other day has seen how she's been looking at you. And you just keep playing it off as if you two are just friends. Aha!" He said triumphantly when Walter opened an eye to look up at him. "Buddy. Seriously."

"Seriously, shut up." Walter and Paige hadn't talked about their kiss in the month since it happened. They'd continued to hang out, and they went together to their appointments with the study coordinators, but something was different now, and Walter didn't like it. "We're lucky that the scan was so apparently telling. Because we sure aren't connecting like we were then."

"It's because you're pushing her away," Happy said. "You used to call her up before we went anywhere, to see if she wanted to go. Now you don't – actively suggest routes that don't go by her house."

"I go by the house all the time," Walter protested. "My sister lives there, remember?"

"Yeah," Happy said, "you go see Megan. When you know Paige is in class. You left your laptop open on Monday, when you took a shower. I saw your little calculations about how often you have to hang out with her without people thinking it weird. Since when did spending time with her become a chore?"

"Since he realized how much he feels for her," Toby said. "Walter, she's crazy about you. You're crazy about her."

"Yes," Walter said, "and in just a couple of weeks, she's going to have a baby. The last thing she needs is to have confusing feelings." Happy and Toby didn't know about the raw desire in her eyes after they'd kissed. They didn't know that when he'd walked her back to her house, she'd kissed him again on the porch in the sunset light, her hands on his chest. They didn't know she'd asked him if he wanted to come in with her. They didn't know that he'd said no. They didn't know that he could still see the disappointed look on her face as if she was still standing in front of him, her hands falling limply to her side. They didn't know that it was since then that it had been harder to spend time with her.

* * *

Three days later, Walter had another reason to avoid focusing on the situation with Paige.

"She was experiencing numbness from the chest down, coupled with vomiting. We haven't yet determined if this is because of her MS or an outside factor."

"When can I see her?"

"I will take you back now. She is asking for you."

The doctor – Walter couldn't remember her name – led him down the corridor, knocking on a door before opening it. "Megan? Walter is here?"

She was laying in the bed – looking startlingly pale despite the complete whiteness of the sheet and pillows – and she gave him a small smile. "Hey, little bro."

"Megan." He walked to her bedside, letting her reach out and grab his hand. "When did this start?"

"Just last night."

"Why did you not tell me?"

"You were out with Paige," she said, and Walter tried to hide his frown – he didn't want to talk about Paige now. "I wasn't going to die yesterday, Walter. I didn't want to bother you."

He and Paige had just gone to one of her history club meetings together. They'd sat off to the side, holding hands because they still had to pretend to be a couple for another week, when they'd have their last interviews. Then a week after that, they'd receive their money. And this charade would all be over. "You never bother me, Meg," he said, squeezing her hand. "If something happens I want to know about it."

"I did tell you, Walter. That's why you're here now." She looked annoyed. "You can't let my condition dictate your life. You gotta have your own, because then what would you do when I'm gone?"

"Don't talk like that," he said, shaking his head. "Medicine is advancing more and more every day. You'll beat this. I know you will."

"For now," she said with a weak smile. "At least I'm not puking my guts out anymore. They gave me some wonderful drugs."

Walter gave a brief chuckle. "Okay." He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "But keep me updated, okay? I want to know what's going on with you."

She nodded. "Okay. I promise."

"Good."

"But little bro?"

He raised his eyebrows attentively. "Hmm?"

"Don't let what's going on with me prevent you from living your own life."

"What did Paige tell you?"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them. Why would Paige tell Megan that she was afraid he wasn't living his life?

"Paige?" Megan frowned. "Is what's going on with me hurting your relationship with her?"

Walter had no idea what to say in response to that, considering his current conflict surrounding Paige actually had nothing to do with Megan or her condition. He was just feeling so many upsetting things he didn't know how to respond to any of them. "N-no," he stammered. "Just...she's our main...mutual contact, so...I thought if anyone expressed concern to you, it would be her. That's all."

Megan smiled. "You know, I'm glad you guys are so close. You deserve relationships like that, and I don't talk to Happy or Toby much. But I live with her, and it makes me so happy to hear the way she talks about you."

Walter wanted to ask what Megan meant. _What does she say about me? How much do I come up in conversation?_ But there'd be no point in knowing. If it wasn't a lot, he knew he'd be disappointed. If it was a lot, he'd feel guilty for getting close to her when the last person who'd been important to her had broken her heart. The look on her face when he'd turned her down that night on her porch had shown him that he was already in danger of doing what he was so desperate not to.

If he was going to feel awful either way, better to just not know.

"Walter?"

"Hmm?"

She was regarding him curiously. "Is something...wrong? You're acting strange today."

"No." He squeezed her hand again. "Nothing's wrong.

She didn't look like she believed him. But he would convince her. In just over a week, the relationship study would be over. He and Paige would no longer have to pretend anything. Things would go back to normal.


	8. Chapter 8

**(This will more than likely be the last update on any of my fics until next Tuesday. Of course I could find some time to write on my little mini vacation, but Tuesday is a safer estimate of when I'll have something up again.)**

* * *

"We did it," Paige said with a grin as she opened the envelope Leia had given both of them, the thick wad of twenties her payment for participating in the study. She looked at Walter, holding up a hand. "High five?"

He obliged, stuffing his own envelope in his pocket.

Their last session had been rough. They'd been given an overview of their results – the specifics would be published later – and one final exit questionnaire, that mainly asked if they'd found speaking about their relationship – and their results – helpful. Walter had wondered if he'd be able to craft believable answers, but the testers seemed pleased at what they read on both his and Paige's sheets. "Thank you for participating," Leia had said as she opened the door for them. "The best of luck to you all."

By "you all" she had probably meant the two of them and the baby. They knew Paige's son wasn't Walter's. He took her words to mean that they bought both his and Paige's lies about how Walter, for all intents and purposes, would be the father.

'Hey hey," Happy said from the bench outside, where she sat with Toby. It was the same bench, Walter noted, that Toby and Walter had been sitting on when Happy, then a freshman, had come up and asked for assistance in finding the engineering building, citing an inaccurate and embarrassingly off scale map as the source of her confusion. Toby liked to joke that she'd come up to them looking for directions and never left.

"Hey guys," Paige said. "How'd it go?"

"Extremely well," Toby said. "I could go for five hundred dollars every three months just to talk about my love for this girl." He slid his arm around Happy's shoulders and squeezed.

She rolled her eyes, trying to hide her smile. "Good thing I didn't mention to them about my husband."

Toby froze. "What?"

She looked at him solemnly for a second, then smirked and put a hand up to her mouth. "God, you're so easy." She looked up at Walter and Paige. "You guys want to go get food or something?"

"Oh," Walter said, "I can't, I have a..."

"You have nothing at all to do," Toby said pointedly. "You were just telling me this morning."

Walter wanted to glare at him, but Paige would notice. He scratched the back of his neck. "Right, that's tomorrow." He gave a little laugh. "I've been getting my days all mixed up, with my one professor cancelling class, and visiting Megan while she recovers..."

"Don't get your days too mixed up," Toby said. "We're two days away from leaving for the conference."

"Speaking of the conference," Paige said, a hand on her lower back, "I hear you guys have a tagalong."

"We do." Toby nodded. "That kid Sylvester, who toured the lab."

"How did he get in on it?"

"The event isn't just open to university students," Walter said. "Anyone can go. And he showed up, the faculty realized his genius, and told him about it. He said he'd been looking for a way to get rid of some extra cash he had..."

"Get rid of?"

Happy crossed her ankles. "Money makes him nervous."

"So he's coming along. I'm interested in speaking with him some more. I think he could be a good addition to some of our upcoming research projects." Walter glanced over at the food stands. He was a little hungry.

"Let's go get ice cream to celebrate," Toby suggested. He fanned the cash in his hands. "I mean, we certainly can afford it. And it's a hot day. The missus here's not liking the sun too well."

"I like it fine in the shade," Happy said.

"Here, you stay here under the tree, and I'll get your cone for you."

Happy shrugged, handing Toby one of the bills from her envelope.

"I have to pee," Paige said, glancing at the porta – johns in the opposite direction. "Walter, can you get mine?" She held out a twenty.

"Yeah. Yeah, sure."

"Hey," Happy said as the boys walked off. "Don't screw me out of a dollar. Bring me back the right amount of change."

"You don't dig the right amount of quarters out of your pocket _one time_ ," Toby said, shaking his head as he and Walter walked to the ice cream stand.

Walter smirked. He ordered vanilla for both of them – he wasn't overly in the mood for ice cream and Paige had mentioned heading into the last session that she was having a bit of difficulty keeping food down. "Oh," he said to the worker as he watched Toby carefully count the change from Happy's order, "can I get a receipt? For this one," he specified, holding up one of the cones. "Just so she knows I'm not screwing her."

"Oh," Toby said. "I think she's very aware that you're not screwing her."

The vendor gave them both odd looks as he passed Walter the receipt.

* * *

Walter pulled out his phone as they settled into their seats on the train car. They'd be traveling through some areas with spotty reception, and he had to place a call to Megan before their communication would be scrambled for a few days. He would have preferred to visit her once more before he, Toby, and Happy left with the other half dozen students, but he hadn't been able to get ahold of her the previous night.

Thankfully, this time, she picked up on the second ring. "Hey bro. You guys all set to go?"

"Yep. We're on the train. Pretty exciting."

"Good. I suppose it's good that I'm hospitalized right now. I can't get around, but they'll be able to easily pop in and keep me updated on Paige."

Walter frowned. "What?"

"Paige," Megan said. "They think it shouldn't be long now."

"Until she goes into labor?" Walter asked. "She still has two weeks until her due date."

There was silence on the end of the line. "Wait. She didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Almost without waiting for an answer, Walter repeated the question. "Tell me what?"

"Paige went into labor almost two days ago. Not intense at first, I mean, she hung out at the sorority house and watched movies with Maya and Linda for the first twenty four hours or so. She got into the hospital about eight hours ago, I think it was, now? The doctors think the baby will come in the next three or four."

" _What_?"

"She _really_ didn't tell you?"

Walter cleared his throat. "Why would she have told me? We're friends, but you don't exactly have to make a Facebook status when you go into labor."

"You guys had just been spending so much time together..." He could almost hear his sister shake her head dismissively. "It just surprised me, that's all. But you're right. She's a private person. She probably doesn't want anyone to know until he's here."

"Well, text me when he is. I want to know that everything is okay."

"Of course. Have a safe trip, little guy."

Walter wanted to point out he was taller than her, but she'd already hung up.

"You're an idiot, you know," Happy said, from her seat adjacent to him. Her head was resting on Toby's shoulder. "You're crazy about her. She's crazy about you."

"I won't hurt her like Drew did," Walter said firmly. "The last thing she needs is someone by her side who is just going to disappear. And the study is over now."

"You realize that that will only happen if you _actually_ disappear," Toby said.

Walter cocked his head, opening his mouth to speak, but Happy interrupted him. "You keep saying that you'll hurt her if you get into a relationship with her, but in reality what's hurting her is you pulling away. I know you failed to connect with your parents. And you're scared about what'll eventually happen to Megan. But you _do_ connect with Paige. And instead of doing something about it, you trot out this crap about hurting her when you leave. But why would you leave?"

"Our relationship was for the study," Walter said. "If I got too close to her during it, it would hurt more now that the study is over."

Toby's words came out in a frustrated hiss. " _Only. if. you. actually. went. away_." He shook his head. "Who ever said when the study was over, you had to leave? Only you. And now she's off having another man's baby, a man who actually _did_ want to leave, and you're here distancing yourself from her because you're so afraid of hurting her when the intensity of that fear is really a sign that if you let yourself close to her you would make _damn sure_ that would never happen!"

"Hey guys!"

The trio looked up to see Sylvester, a bag over his shoulder and a huge grin on his face, standing in front of them. "Is this seat taken?"

"Yeah," Toby said truthfully. "One of the chaperones has to sit there."

"Oh. Well..." Sylvester looked around, dejected. "I can sit a few rows up, then."

Walter hadn't moved in the past several seconds, not a muscle, not a hair, but he suddenly stood up, scooting past Toby and Happy and stopping at the door of the train. "Take my seat, Sylvester." He gestured to it as he looked at Happy and Toby. "I trust you'll take notes and video for me to review when you get back."

"What?" Toby said, looking confused. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to Paige," Walter said, rushes of both adrenaline and guilt moving through him at the same time. "I love her."


	9. Chapter 9

The entire way to the hospital, Walter hoped he hadn't left his wallet on the train. Sure, Happy would make sure he got it back, but if he got pulled over...

He wouldn't get pulled over. Nothing was going to stop him from getting to her.

" _Paige_!" He bellowed as he jumped out of the car, racing toward the hospital door marked _labor and delivery._

"Paige Dineen, please," he said to the man at the desk. "She would have come in a couple hours ago."

"Name?"

" _Paige Dineen_."

The man didn't look amused. " _Your_ name, genius."

Walter opened his mouth, the _W_ sound on his lips, when he realized two things. One – Paige would not have named him as someone allowed in the room because she thought he was on a train. Two – Megan was in this same hospital and Paige knew that. "O'Brien," he said.

"She's in room H," he said. "Down the hall, third on the right around the corner."

"Thank you." Walter forced himself to power walk until he was out of sight, then darted the remaining yards to Paige's room.

She was standing on the far side of the bed, leaning over, resting her forearms on the mattress with her head down. Walter hated the sight. The room was professional, it had everything that could possibly be needed medically. Prior to Paige – prior to Megan's illness – he would have thought that the room was perfect. Now he saw the lack of personalization, the lack of comfort in what had to be one of the most terrifying days of her life, and he grew almost angry at the hospital.

"Paige."

She looked up, her eyes widening as she straightened up. "Walter?"

Her face contorted and she put a hand to her mouth as tears sprang to her eyes. Walter rushed around the bed. "Hey, I'm here."

She clung to him, burying her head in his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, unsure of what he should say. The _hey, I'm here_ had come out so easily, but beyond that?

Looking up at him, Paige furrowed her brow, wiping her eyes. "You didn't go to the conference?"

"No."

"Why not? You were so looking forward to it."

He rubbed her back gently. "I realized that..." He blew a breath out through his nose. "I realized that I'm in love with you and knowing you were here alone, I...I couldn't leave you. Alone."

"In...in love with me? But you..."

"I was afraid of hurting you. I thought no matter what we'd be over when the study was over and I thought if I let myself get close that...that I would just be doing what Drew did. It was m-moronic. I'm sorry I let you believe I didn't care." He cupped her face in his hands. "I don't know how to do this but I thought I could start by being here for you today. I'm sorry I wasn't here the entire time. I should have told you...earlier, but...but I didn't know. But Paige..." He ran his thumbs up and down her cheeks, "I'm not going anywhere. Not today. Not ever."

"Walter, I'm having a baby. Are you sure, because it's okay to not know if you're..."

"No," Walter said. He didn't know how to explain it to her because it didn't even make sense to him, but he loved her son. "I know that I want both of you." She nodded at him, their eyes locked. "Now what can I do? To help?"

"I can't get comfortable," she said. "They said I could walk but I didn't feel like it, but I can't find a position that's comfortable."

"Do you want to walk now? You can lean on me."

She shook her head, backing away from him and sitting on the bed. "The doctors said it'd be just another couple of hours but it's been another couple of hours and my contractions are still five minutes apart and I'm so frustrated. This has been two days already, Walter. And they're less intense than they were an hour ago."

"You started...the same day we got ice cream?"

"That night. I was excited at first, though, you know, like, _I'm going to meet my son_ , but..." she put a hand on her back and closed her eyes, sighing deeply, her face tense. Walter waited, glancing at the clock. Thirty six seconds had passed when she opened her eyes. "It's moved so slowly."

"Has your water broken?"

"Yes. Two hours ago now. Which means he's putting a ton of pressure on my pelvis and it's just extra uncomfortable."

"Are the doctors just not..." Walter looked around.

"They're checking on me. And I have a call button. I'm not close enough yet to warrant full time attention."

Walter noticed the large inflatable ball in the corner of the room. "Do you want to sit on that?" He asked. "I think that's supposed to help with pressure."

"I wanted to, but I thought I might overbalance." Her eyes lit up. "You can help!"

He grinned. "Uh – huh." He retrieved the ball and planned to roll it to the bed, but she followed him, already there when he turned around. Paige eased down onto it, holding onto his arms. She rotated her hips in circles, the ball absorbing the motions.

Walter wasn't sure how long he stood there, supporting her, before her stomach visibly shifted, like the visible kicks they'd been witnessing for the past week, only this time her whole stomach was involved. "What was that?"

Paige's eyes were wide, and she was blinking. "I feel like he did a somersault...oh God. That's what he did." She looked up at Walter, her eyes wide. "Does that mean he's breech now?"

"Get on the bed," Walter said, helping her to her feet and glancing at the clock on the wall to discover he'd been in there with her for nearly forty minutes. He steadied Paige and stayed behind her, a hand on her back, as they walked to the bed. Just one pace away, he suddenly felt her back against his chest and, as if on autopilot, his hands slid forward, under her arms, to grip her own hands as she leaned against him and moaned, loudly.

"Breathe," he whispered against her ear, glancing at the clock as the seconds ticked by. One full minute. Whatever had just happened, things had sped up. "I'll get the doctor."

"No," she said, crawling onto the bed. "Don't leave."

"Paige, it's still ten minutes before they check on you again, I have to..." he stopped when she held up the call button. "Oh. Right."

She grabbed the sheet and used it to dab the sweat from her brow. He noticed the way she wrung the sheet between her hands, and he dropped down on the edge of the bed, a hand sliding behind her neck, startled at how sweaty it was. "It's okay."

"I want to know if he's breech," she said, her voice not sounding like her. She looked at him. "Can you check?"

Walter glanced around the room, rising off the bed and rushing to the sink. When he returned, Paige had scooted to the edge of the bed and was drawing up her gown. "Shouldn't we wait for the..."

Tears were in her eyes. "Walter, I'm scared."

She'd had to have heard horror stories from others who'd delivered breech babies. Walter had heard them himself and he hadn't even been involved in her pregnancy. He did know that some breech deliveries turned out shockingly simple, but many did not. Megan had been breech, he knew, and when she turned that way during labor his mother had had to have an emergency caesarian.

"Don't be scared," he said, although he himself was a bit terrified about what he was about to do. He knew some doctors even encouraged people to feel their progression, but these circumstances were different and _godddamn it where is that doctor?_ "Paige, I really think _you_ should do this." He didn't know her. He could hurt her.

"I can't," she said, tears in her eyes, and Walter realized that she didn't mean she wasn't capable. She was too scared of feeling the baby's rear end.

"Okay," he said. "But you tell me if..." he trailed off when she tensed and moaned again, leaning forward this time, toward him. He held his hands out and she gripped both of them, leaning her forehead against his. He counted in his head. Sixty six seconds. "It's okay," he said quietly when her moan turned into a whimper and she relaxed – sort of. "Alright. You tell me if I hurt you, okay?"

She nodded, biting her lip. She was far enough along that there was ample room for his fingers, and it didn't take him long – at all – to locate the baby. What he felt was hard, round, and, most importantly, had hair. "He's not breech," Walter said in relief. "He might have been before, but he's not now."

"Oh God." Paige put a hand up to her mouth. "Oh, thank God."

" _Where is the doctor_?"

"I..." Paige looked uncomfortable. "I might have...forgotten...to hit the button."

Walter grabbed it, punching the button with as much force as he could muster. Within thirty seconds, two doctors and several nurses flooded the room. The next few minutes were a blur to him, as the doctor examined Paige to announce what Walter had just felt, that the baby was in a good position and that it was nearly time, but of course the mother would be the one to decide when. _The mother_. Walter somehow hadn't quite put it together that _mother_ was a word that could be used to describe Paige, and he looked down at her, already seeing her differently.

Within minutes, Paige wanted to push. "We don't have to do this on the bed, remember," one of the nurses said. "Whatever is most comfortable for you. You can stand, or squat, all fours is sometimes pretty effective..."

By Paige's nods, Walter knew they had to have discussed all of this with her previously, and were just going over the options again. She crawled out of the bed, the nurses supporting her as she dropped down on her hands and knees and moaned again, rocking her body forward and back.

"Are you the father?" one of the nurses asked Walter.

"No," he said. "I'm uh...I'm her...I mean..." He cleared his throat. "I'm Walter."

"Walter?"

"Yeah Paige!" He dropped down next to her and she shifted. "I need you."

"Okay. You going to squat?"

She nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her head as he knelt in front of her. He could feel her moans reverberate through her body – and now, his – and he reminded her to breathe while simultaneously reminding himself.

"I'm so tired," she whispered. "I can't do this."

"Well," Walter said, "you are the only one here who can."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth he felt like an idiot for being so matter – of – fact, but Paige actually laughed in spite of herself, the lovely laugh he'd fallen in love with on the hillside, and turned her head to kiss his throat briefly before dropping her head back to her chest and pushing again.

The doctor and one of the nurses were in front of them – well, in front of Walter, behind Paige – and the nurse had her hand on Paige's lower back. "Not long now, Paige," she said. "Give us another one when you're ready and that should deliver the head."

With how she was clinging to him and how his arms were what supported her, Walter felt everything Paige did. It was an odd, intimate extension of the evening she'd pressed her belly against him, letting him feel her son kick. But he realized he actually wasn't scared. Not one bit.

"Good, Paige," the nurse said. "Very good. Maybe just one more."

She whimpered, panting against Walter's neck, her arms surprisingly strong despite her exhaustion. Walter rubbed her upper back, above where the nurse had her palm. "I love you," he whispered again.

She grunted, tensing, and then he felt her relax, a loud gasp reaching his ears at the same time as a triumphant sound from the doctor. "And he's here!"

There was no shrill cry to accompany the announcement, rather a tiny little "geh," as if Paige's son was miffed. She turned around, her foot careful to not disturb the cord, and dropped to the ground, leaning back against Walter as both of them got a good look at the newborn for the first time.

He was tiny – Walter wasn't surprised – but perfectly formed, with a thick head of hair that seemed darker than Paige's. His eyes were wide – unusual considering he was unaccustomed to light – as if he was intensely perceiving his new observable universe.

The nurses were working quickly, cleaning him off, careful not to disrupt the cord. "We will have to test his reflexes and do a couple other routine things," the doctor said, "but you can hold him first, if you'd like."

"Give him to me," Paige said, holding out her arms. When her son wasn't immediately placed there, her voice grew sharp, almost panicky. " _Give him to me_!"

"It's okay," Walter said. "They're taking care of him."

One of the nurses gently placed the baby in Paige's arms, and she gathered him close. "Look at him," she said, and Walter didn't know if she meant him or if she was speaking to herself. "Look at him. Oh my gosh..." She trailed off, shaking her head. "Walter, he's perfect."

She was sitting up of her own ability, so Walter settled next to her, an arm around her back. Paige was cuddling her son to her chest, speaking softly now, words he couldn't make out – but they weren't meant for him. Then, words he _could_ hear. "My son."


	10. Chapter 10

**So this chapter is more of an epilogue, so it's on the shorter side. Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed, I'm so pleased that you all liked this! I got a lot of people saying they normally don't like school AUs but they really enjoyed this one, and that makes me so happy, like you guys don't even know. Thanks to sopercabeth for the prompt!**

* * *

Toby called about four – thirty. Walter answered on the fourth ring – he'd had his phone out all afternoon taking pictures, and it had died about thirty minutes prior. He had it plugged in across the room and had to rise from his seat beside the bed to answer. "Hey Toby."

"We've arrived at the conference," Toby said. "Sylvester is very excited about it. He keeps asking where the merchandise is."

"Do they even have stuff like that at these things?" Walter didn't think so.

"There's a table by concessions," Happy said. "He's in line now. Did you know that he knows Megan?"

"As in...as in my sister Megan?"

"Yeah. I guess he was in for a sprained wrist last week and she was out with her walker. They've been texting, I guess they're friends now."

"Interesting," Walter said. "Well, it's good for him to have more friends. Megan is a good friend to have."

"So the baby's here, huh?" Toby said, "how's Paige?"

"She's just fallen asleep." She'd stayed up for several hours after the birth, cuddling her son, feeding him, watching him sleep on her chest. But now the fatigue had overtaken her and she was out cold, her head tipped to the side, her hand hanging off the edge of the bed nearest to where the newborn too slept.

"How big is he?"

"Seven pounds, fifteen ounces," Walter said. "Nineteen inches. And a lot of hair."

"He looks good, then?" Happy asked.

"Perfect," Walter said. "Everything's great. They said both of them can probably go home tomorrow...which I guess will be back to the sorority house, since he's early...what happens after that I don't...I don't know."

"Has she named him?" Toby wanted to know.

"Ralph."

"I don't remember that being on her list," the psychiatry student remarked.

"It wasn't. But after he was born...she was holding him, and...and she just said that that was his name. It came to her..." he frowned, trying to recall her exact words. "It came to her as if it came with him."

They talked a few more minutes, and then Happy said they had to go – not to christen the empty conference room, as Toby joked, but to the first panel. When they disconnected, Walter walked across the room, standing over the bassinet, staring down at Paige's son.

The boy was awake now, squirming, but not crying. He looked up at Walter and blinked a couple of times. Newborns couldn't see very well. He clearly knew Walter was there, but he wouldn't see more than a vague shape.

Walter leaned down close, trying to keep his expression neutral. "Hi Ralph," he said quietly, not wanting to wake Paige up. "You want to come out of there? Yeah, I think so..." he reached down, lifting the baby up and bringing him against his chest.

He hadn't held him yet. Paige had offered, shortly after Ralph had nursed the first time, but Walter had declined, oddly terrified of hurting the boy. Now that things had calmed down, he wanted to hold him, and now that the boy was in his arms, Walter felt oddly choked up, like he had the first time he'd felt him kick. Settling down on the chair, he adjusted, so the baby was laying on his lap, looking up at him.

He realized how he'd described Ralph to his friends. Perfect had rolled so easily off his tongue.

Walter didn't use the word perfect. Everything had flaws.

Not tonight, he thought. Not Ralph.


End file.
